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lavendermarch's review against another edition
4.0
I read Sir Tristam's story for an English class this semester, and may read more from this at a later date. It was pretty interesting, if slightly confusing in a couple of places wording-wise. 3.5 stars.
mxmrow's review against another edition
1.0
Glad I got through it and was interesting given the various characters crop up in pop culture but was difficult to keep enough focus to know what was happening.
larkspire's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
brihoppe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
justabean_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Endless jousting intercut with #Relatable. More of a review to be posted after I read the second half.
lizzie__b's review against another edition
Can you tell I'm studying ELL
This was good tho. I liked the suffering and dying back to back tropes in this book.
This was good tho. I liked the suffering and dying back to back tropes in this book.
frog2's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
egoplen7's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cleheny's review against another edition
2.0
I read this several times when I was a kid, and I loved it. It's been over 30 years since I last read it, and my re-read is not going so well. Some of it is the focus on the late Middle Ages' concept of chivalry, of course--the emphasis on jousts and fights, and who knocked who off someone else's horse--but a lot of my discontent is focused on theme and organization. Other reviewers have commented on the absence of a coherent chronology and, at some points, what feels like time travel (e.g., didn't this guy die a couple of books ago?). It's not clear to me if Malory or Caxton is most responsible for that confusion. But the themes are so strange, and that's why I decided to write an on-going review, as I work through all 21 books.
Malory is supposedly writing a tale of the highest, best, noblest, and most idealistic civilization in history, comprised of the bravest and most compassionate men and women. But they are all remarkably flawed, and it Malory seems blind to so many of those faults.
Book 1 (Arthur's conception, childhood, coronation, and initial battles): Wacky chronology alert #1: It appears that Arthur is barely more than a child when he is crowned, but he's off fighting in multiple battles and fathers a couple of kids in the early days of his reign. He then decides to slaughter all of the nobly-born male children born around May Day because he is warned that his son by incest, Mordred, will be his doom. Arthur's character ricochets all over the place--naive squire, modest and humble young king, terrible warrior, bloodthirsty tyrant--that the reader gets whiplash. And so much of all of this could have been avoided if Merlin had just told everyone (including Arthur) who Arthur really was.
Book 2 (Balin and Arthur's 4th battle): This is where it really gets thematically weird. Balin is apparently the greatest of all knights (until Lancelot, I guess), who is the only one worthy to draw a magical sword (even though he just got out of a 6-month jail term for killing Arthur's unnamed cousin). But then he won't give it back, even when he's warned that he'll kill his best friend with it, will be killed by it, and he will also give the "Dolorous Stroke" that will ruin 3 kingdoms for 12 years (wacky chronology alert #2: the Fisher King isn't healed until the Grail Quest, which doesn't take place until Galahad is at least 15 years old, and he's years away from being born). Plus cuts off a woman's head for revenge and then later he kills a knight and then stands by while the knights girlfriend kills herself. But for some reason this guy is considered a great hero whose sword will be the mystical object eventually wielded by Galahad in the Grail Quest.
Book 3 (Arthur's marriage, getting the Round Table, Gawaine, Gaheris, and Tor): Arthur insists on marrying Guenevere even though he's warned that it's all going to end in misery. Pellinore becomes a knight of the Round Table even though it comes out that he essentially raped Tor's commoner mother to produce this eventual knight. Tor steals a brachet and then kills the knight who tries to return it to its rightful owner. Pellinore, in pursuit of his own quest, ignores the pleas of a young woman who is trying to save her lover; she kills herself after the lover dies. It turns out that she's Pellinore's daughter; it's not specified whether Pellinore raped her mother or she was the product of a one-night stand. And then there's Gawaine, who's so ticked off at a knight that he refuses to give him mercy, and then accidentally strikes off the head of the knight's lady when she runs between her lover and Gawaine's sword. What I love about this is that Gawaine is yelled at by the court and ordered to swear an oath to never harm a lady, but Pellinore the rapist is not even reprimanded for his behavior.
Book 4 (Arthur's fifth battle, Merlin's entombment, Morgan Le Fay's plots, Gawaine, Uwaine, and Marhaus' quests): There are several weird things about this book, mostly having to do with the absence of any plausible explanation for certain characters' conduct. So Morgan Le Fay, Arthur's half-sister, becomes his chief antagonist, even though no reason is given for her villainy (wacky chronology alert #3: And she has a son who is old enough to be a knight (about Gawaine's age, it appears) by a king who was warring with Arthur during Book 1 and 2 and didn't marry Morgan until sometime after that). And then there's Gawaine's weird betrayal of Pelleas. He wants to help the guy out but comes up with a wacky plan that has no obvious payoff ("I (fake) killed the guy who worshiped you but who you despised"--and then what?). And the "then what?" is that Gawaine sleeps with Pelleas' beloved, betraying Pelleas. Why? No reason, except perhaps to suggest that Gawaine is an untrustworthy asshole--which later books suggest that he isn't. Oh, yeah, and Kay seriously kicks ass as a knight, but those days of valor are quickly forgotten when Lancelot shows up.
Book 4 (Arthur's Campaign Against the Romans): Arthur defeats the forces of Rome, becomes the Emperor, hangs out in Rome for a few months, and then heads back to England. This is one of the last books in which Arthur takes an active role as a fighting king, and he's still depicted as a great warrior. The weird thing about this book is that it references Lancelot as already being a member of the court with a great reputation, but there's no description of his arrival or how he established his reputation. In light of later books that focus on "origin" stories--Gareth, La Cote Male Taile--it's a little surprising that we don't get the same for Lancelot.
Book 5 (Lancelot's First Set of Adventures): So Lancelot is so well known that every woman he comes into contact with claims that she wants him to love her, even though they know that he is devoted to Guenevere, and every knight fears and/or worships him (which is why they leave Sir Kay alone when Lancelot changes armor with him). What's interesting is that, although everyone talks about how Lancelot is Guenevere's favorite and his love for her, there is no suggestion that they've become intimate. Are they lovers, yet? And, if not, is that why Lancelot can achieve quests such as the Chapel Perilous? The central conflict is Lancelot's defeat (and killing) of Sir Turquine, who hates Lancelot because the great knight killed Turquine's brother, Sir Caradoc. Wacky chronology alert #4: Sir Mordred is already a full knight of the court during Lancelot's "early" years.
Book 6 (The Tale of Gareth): The central theme is one of disguise--Gareth disguises himself at Arthur's court, with Linet, with most of the knights he encounters, and at the final tournament. I realize that this is supposed to demonstrate his nobility--he wants to succeed on his own merit and increase his fame--but it gets old and irritating, fast. Also, one of the more aggravating aspects of this story is that, when Gareth first arrives at court and is anonymous, both Lancelot and Gawaine reach out to and mentor him. Lancelot does it out of his "gentleness and courtesy," but Gawaine does it because he feels some connection, even though he doesn't recognize his own brother. Can't Gawaine get credit for being a good guy who looks out young, promising knights--or is only Lancelot entitled to that accolade? Wack chronology alert #5: Remember Turquine, who was killed in the last book, and Caradoc, who was killed before Book 5? Well, they're here, alive and kicking and jousting (with Lancelot, no less).
Malory is supposedly writing a tale of the highest, best, noblest, and most idealistic civilization in history, comprised of the bravest and most compassionate men and women. But they are all remarkably flawed, and it Malory seems blind to so many of those faults.
Book 1 (Arthur's conception, childhood, coronation, and initial battles): Wacky chronology alert #1: It appears that Arthur is barely more than a child when he is crowned, but he's off fighting in multiple battles and fathers a couple of kids in the early days of his reign. He then decides to slaughter all of the nobly-born male children born around May Day because he is warned that his son by incest, Mordred, will be his doom. Arthur's character ricochets all over the place--naive squire, modest and humble young king, terrible warrior, bloodthirsty tyrant--that the reader gets whiplash. And so much of all of this could have been avoided if Merlin had just told everyone (including Arthur) who Arthur really was.
Book 2 (Balin and Arthur's 4th battle): This is where it really gets thematically weird. Balin is apparently the greatest of all knights (until Lancelot, I guess), who is the only one worthy to draw a magical sword (even though he just got out of a 6-month jail term for killing Arthur's unnamed cousin). But then he won't give it back, even when he's warned that he'll kill his best friend with it, will be killed by it, and he will also give the "Dolorous Stroke" that will ruin 3 kingdoms for 12 years (wacky chronology alert #2: the Fisher King isn't healed until the Grail Quest, which doesn't take place until Galahad is at least 15 years old, and he's years away from being born). Plus cuts off a woman's head for revenge and then later he kills a knight and then stands by while the knights girlfriend kills herself. But for some reason this guy is considered a great hero whose sword will be the mystical object eventually wielded by Galahad in the Grail Quest.
Book 3 (Arthur's marriage, getting the Round Table, Gawaine, Gaheris, and Tor): Arthur insists on marrying Guenevere even though he's warned that it's all going to end in misery. Pellinore becomes a knight of the Round Table even though it comes out that he essentially raped Tor's commoner mother to produce this eventual knight. Tor steals a brachet and then kills the knight who tries to return it to its rightful owner. Pellinore, in pursuit of his own quest, ignores the pleas of a young woman who is trying to save her lover; she kills herself after the lover dies. It turns out that she's Pellinore's daughter; it's not specified whether Pellinore raped her mother or she was the product of a one-night stand. And then there's Gawaine, who's so ticked off at a knight that he refuses to give him mercy, and then accidentally strikes off the head of the knight's lady when she runs between her lover and Gawaine's sword. What I love about this is that Gawaine is yelled at by the court and ordered to swear an oath to never harm a lady, but Pellinore the rapist is not even reprimanded for his behavior.
Book 4 (Arthur's fifth battle, Merlin's entombment, Morgan Le Fay's plots, Gawaine, Uwaine, and Marhaus' quests): There are several weird things about this book, mostly having to do with the absence of any plausible explanation for certain characters' conduct. So Morgan Le Fay, Arthur's half-sister, becomes his chief antagonist, even though no reason is given for her villainy (wacky chronology alert #3: And she has a son who is old enough to be a knight (about Gawaine's age, it appears) by a king who was warring with Arthur during Book 1 and 2 and didn't marry Morgan until sometime after that). And then there's Gawaine's weird betrayal of Pelleas. He wants to help the guy out but comes up with a wacky plan that has no obvious payoff ("I (fake) killed the guy who worshiped you but who you despised"--and then what?). And the "then what?" is that Gawaine sleeps with Pelleas' beloved, betraying Pelleas. Why? No reason, except perhaps to suggest that Gawaine is an untrustworthy asshole--which later books suggest that he isn't. Oh, yeah, and Kay seriously kicks ass as a knight, but those days of valor are quickly forgotten when Lancelot shows up.
Book 4 (Arthur's Campaign Against the Romans): Arthur defeats the forces of Rome, becomes the Emperor, hangs out in Rome for a few months, and then heads back to England. This is one of the last books in which Arthur takes an active role as a fighting king, and he's still depicted as a great warrior. The weird thing about this book is that it references Lancelot as already being a member of the court with a great reputation, but there's no description of his arrival or how he established his reputation. In light of later books that focus on "origin" stories--Gareth, La Cote Male Taile--it's a little surprising that we don't get the same for Lancelot.
Book 5 (Lancelot's First Set of Adventures): So Lancelot is so well known that every woman he comes into contact with claims that she wants him to love her, even though they know that he is devoted to Guenevere, and every knight fears and/or worships him (which is why they leave Sir Kay alone when Lancelot changes armor with him). What's interesting is that, although everyone talks about how Lancelot is Guenevere's favorite and his love for her, there is no suggestion that they've become intimate. Are they lovers, yet? And, if not, is that why Lancelot can achieve quests such as the Chapel Perilous? The central conflict is Lancelot's defeat (and killing) of Sir Turquine, who hates Lancelot because the great knight killed Turquine's brother, Sir Caradoc. Wacky chronology alert #4: Sir Mordred is already a full knight of the court during Lancelot's "early" years.
Book 6 (The Tale of Gareth): The central theme is one of disguise--Gareth disguises himself at Arthur's court, with Linet, with most of the knights he encounters, and at the final tournament. I realize that this is supposed to demonstrate his nobility--he wants to succeed on his own merit and increase his fame--but it gets old and irritating, fast. Also, one of the more aggravating aspects of this story is that, when Gareth first arrives at court and is anonymous, both Lancelot and Gawaine reach out to and mentor him. Lancelot does it out of his "gentleness and courtesy," but Gawaine does it because he feels some connection, even though he doesn't recognize his own brother. Can't Gawaine get credit for being a good guy who looks out young, promising knights--or is only Lancelot entitled to that accolade? Wack chronology alert #5: Remember Turquine, who was killed in the last book, and Caradoc, who was killed before Book 5? Well, they're here, alive and kicking and jousting (with Lancelot, no less).